April 11, 2006

AgRural puts Brazil's 2005/06 soy crop at 54.7 million tonnes

Brazilian agribusiness consulting firm AgRural revised its monthly 2005/06 soy harvest to 54.7 million tonnes on Monday (Apr 10), down from its March estimate of 56.3 million tonnes.

Poor yields in Parana and Mato Grosso states, Brazil's top two producers, led AgRural to reduce its numbers, analyst Seneri Paludo said.

In Mato Grosso, AgRural had yields averaging 45 60-kilogramme bags per hectare compared to 48 bags per hectare in March because of problems with Asian soybean rust and excessive rains damaging overall production in regions of the state.

Dry weather in pockets of Parana and problems with insects should have Parana soy farmers yielding 2,400 kg/hectare, or roughly 40 bags per hectare. Parana harvested 2,300 bags per hectare in 2004/05.

Yields in the third-largest producer Rio Grande do Sul were put at 2,080 kg/hectare, compared with 641 kg/hectare in 2004/05. Rio Grande do Sul soy farmers lost 75 percent of their crop last year because a severe drought.

As a result, southern states like Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, which suffered from dry weather in 2004/05, will see yields rise by 50 percent overall.

Yields are down throughout more than half of Brazil's soy-producing states in comparison to 2004/05 productivity levels.